


Are You Really Here?

by tamethespaghetti



Category: Ushio to Tora | Ushio and Tora
Genre: Happy Ending, Hugs, Implied Relationships, Light Angst, Longing, Multi, Post-Canon, Reminiscing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:00:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26592547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tamethespaghetti/pseuds/tamethespaghetti
Summary: Back here, in the warehouse, feet once again on the cold, stone floor of this cellar, Ushio could almost feel Tora’s presence again.
Relationships: Aotsuki Ushio/Nakamura Asako, Aotsuki Ushio/Tora, Mayuko/Tora (Ushio to Tora)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17





	Are You Really Here?

It was a quiet night at the temple. His parents had gone out for the weekend, a little R&R just for the two of them at a couple’s spa, and that was all Ushio wished to know about it. So as it stood, he had the house to himself, and although his father had given him a hefty list of chores to get done over the next couple days, he had suddenly found himself with a surplus of alone time and he wasn’t going to waste this opportunity.

Ushio stood up from his desk for the first time all night and stretched. His muscles complained and a few joints popped but that’s what he got for sitting down, hunched over a painting for hours. With no one around to bother him -or ridicule him- he was free to draw and paint uninterrupted and nothing could make him happier. But now he had to wait for this layer of paint to dry before continuing, so it seemed like the perfect time for a break.

The empty house settled around him as he exited his room and made the short walk to the kitchen. He took a soda from the fridge and then made his way outside. As he sipped the cold, sparkling drink he watched the night sky. It was clear, hardly a cloud in the sky, and the stars shone down with vigor, bathing the calm early summer night with their light. It was beautiful out here and he almost felt bad about staying inside for so long. But that could be rectified now. His painting wasn’t going anywhere, but how many peaceful summer nights would Ushio be able to enjoy?

He had stopped taking moments like this for granted years ago.

So, with a soda in hand, he strolled through the silent grounds of the temple, bare feet walking through the grass without making a sound to disrupt the tranquility around him. The grass did seem a bit long, and he made a note to cut the grass tomorrow so that when his parents retuned home they could be greeted with a nice tidy yard.

A warm wind had begun to blow, nothing more than a mild breeze, but it was a gentle presence at his back and he let it guide him through the grounds. He let his mind wander as he walked -as it often did- to Asako. He wondered how late she’d be working at the restaurant this evening, and what she’d do after she was done. Would she step outside at look up at the stunning sky and appreciate it as he did? Would she think of him just as he had thought of her?

His pace slowed down and it took him a moment to register where he had ended up. A small building near the edge of the temple’s land, well kept but weathered with age none-the-less. It had taken months for him to not tear up when he walked by this building. And many more years to be able to set foot in it. He still rarely entered. He was no longer in charge of cleaning the warehouse. His father had given him that.

Maybe it was the calmness of the night -with its ethereal beauty and peacefulness- that calmed the usual nerves and emotion that Ushio felt when faced with the warehouse. He felt okay, strangely content with everything, and maybe tonight would mark the moment when he was able to move on.

He walked up to the warehouse and set his now empty can of soda on the stone steps. Hands now free, he raised them and rested them against the old wooden doors. The wood was smooth against his palms and for once, his hands didn’t shake. 

He pushed the doors open and stepped in.

The light from the sky poured into the small space, casting light and shadows over the accumulation of offering stored here and Ushio smiled at the nostalgia that washed over him. It was still a mess in here. But what was new was the ornamental rug that lay at the center of the floor, covered with dust and dirt from years of sitting there, unmoved.

Ushio knelt on the floor, not bothered that his sweatpants were now dirty with the same dirt and dust that covered the yellow, orange, and gold fibers of the rug, and rolled that rug up and off to the side. Underneath, as he knew all too well, were the heavy doors that lead down to the cellar. He opened them, for the first time in a long time, and looked down at the dark hole in the ground.

He was eighteen now, no longer the child that had gone down those steep stairs four years ago.

Four years. That hit Ushio hard. It seemed so much longer than that, it felt like it had been an eternity since he’d first set eyes on the youkai, since he’d pulled the Beast Spear from Tora’s shoulder, since he’d fought beside Tora. So much had happened, that it had to have been longer than that. It felt like so much longer since he’d last seen Tora. If it had been such a short time ago, he couldn’t miss Tora _this_ much.

And yet, at the same time, it felt like only yesterday. Some days on the walk to school he would freak out because he’d forgotten the Beast Spear at home, only to remember the spear was no more, just as he had no reason to carry it with him. Too often would he look over his shoulder, expecting to an angry mass of liveliness and gold, only to be reminded that no, he was alone.

No- not alone- he still had his family and friends and so many other people that had stayed a part of his life even after that fateful fight- just without Tora.

Tonight, as he lowered himself down those steep stairs that creaked with every step he took, was one of those times where it felt like no time had passed at all. Back here, in the warehouse, feet once again on the cold, stone floor of this cellar, Ushio could almost feel Tora’s presence again.

But he knew it was all a fallacy, delusions brought forth from a hollow feeling inside him that had yearned for something to fill it. And being here didn’t help. None of the light from that beautiful night sky had made it down here and Ushio’s human senses were searching for something- anything in the pitch blankness around him.

Ushio took a slow breath and forced his mind to stop overacting.

That gentle summer breeze offered him comfort, again a reassuring present at his back.

And the Ushio’s breath got caught in his throat. A spark of hope ignited itself within himself as he worked out the improbability of the wind making it down here. It couldn’t right? And now that he thought about it more, if he really focused on that feeling behind him, it didn’t actually feel like the wind. It was more solid, unyielding, and familiar than any summer night breeze aught to be.

He swore it felt like someone was there, standing at his back. It felt safe.

“Tora?” he asked into the darkness before he could stop himself, and he instantly regretted it. He hadn’t let that name leave his mouth in ages and now, more than ever, he was terrified of the silence that was surely to follow. And it did. The night was no longer calming in its stillness, but instead empty and heavy and desolate and so much more, but above all else, painful. And the stale air of the cellar seemed to thicken and wrap itself around him, almost suffocating.

He spoke again, words getting caught in his throat and eaten up by the impenetrable darkness that surrounded him, “Are you really here?”

His voice sounded so small and got lost in the darkness so quickly. It was silent again and a feeling of uncertainty washed over him. Confusion and confliction and doubt and helplessness. So many overwhelming emotions, but not all bad -there was happiness there, and gratitude and relief and love too- and Ushio felt himself drowning in the tumultuous mass of sensations.

But none of it, none of these feelings, were his own. 

And then, finally, a voice cut through the silent night, deep and rough and familiar, and filled the hollow void that had stayed with Ushio since the war against Hakumen no Mono.

“What kind of stupid question is that?”

For the first time in years, Ushio felt like he could breath.

He turned around slowly and all he could see was darkness, but just past that, there was Tora, right? Even if he couldn’t see anything, Tora had to be there. So Ushio reached out, into the dense blackness of the cellar, further and further but his hands only meet empty air. No, that wasn’t right. He had felt Tora’s youki, and he had just heard Tora’s voice, that couldn’t have just been his imagination.

And then something in the darkness shifted and Ushio’s hands met something solid. Thick, coarse fur, crackling with electricity and life -so unique that it could only be Tora- and Ushio fell into it. He wrapped his arms around Tora and buried his face into that broad chest. Ushio could feel Tora’s body tense around him, no doubt surprised, and Ushio waited for the snarky comment that was bound to come.

And after a beat of silence, Tora snapped, “Ushio what the hell are you doing?”

“Giving you a hug,” Ushio replied, voice muffled by nature of his face being smushed up against Tora, but he knew Tora had heard him.

“No shit,” Tora growled, “But why the fuck-”

“Just shut up for a minute,” Ushio shushed the youkai and surprisingly -or maybe more unsurprisingly than either of them would have cared to admit- Tora stopped talking. After a beat of silence Ushio added in a much smaller voice, “I missed you, you damn youkai.”

Tora didn’t move right away, but when he did, his movements were slow and a little unsure, but either way, he brought his arms up and wrapped them around Ushio’s body to return the hug. A smile spread across Ushio’s face because everything felt right again and nothing could stop the tears from forming in his eyes and falling.

“You’re getting my fur wet,” Tora complained but he made no movement to release Ushio. If anything, his grip around Ushio tightened, so Ushio didn’t feel the need to apologies, or give some sort of snarky retort. Instead he relaxed into the embrace and soaked up the warmth and fondness and _love_ that radiated so strongly from the youkai that Ushio was certain Tora didn’t even notice.

Then, in a voice so quiet Ushio wasn’t even sure if it was from Tora, he heard, “I missed you too.”

~*~

Elsewhere, Mayuko looked out her window at the stunning night sky, and she had been so engrossed by the sparkling array of stars overhead that she almost missed it. Almost. But not quite. Something changed, because suddenly everything around her felt lighter, brighter, and she felt happier, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She felt warm and safe like she hadn’t felt in years.

“You’re back,” she said to herself, to the stars, to no one, and most importantly, to Tora.

She didn’t wait up, because she knew Tora wouldn’t be visiting her tonight. But whenever he did show up she would be ready. She had waited for years now, so she was perfectly content with waiting a bit longer.

**Author's Note:**

> *Stumbles into this dead fandom to proclaim my love for this manga and Ushio/Tora*  
> Why did this manga about a kid and his dumb demon give me so many FEELINGS? Why is Tora and Ushio's relationship so dang GOOD? Why did the ending make me cry and force me to write something where Tora comes back and they HUG?


End file.
